Tesla is supposed to imminently unveil its new Roadster after years of delays

Tesla CEO Elon Musk claims the long-awaited next-generation Roadster will finally be unveiled by the end of the month, which is days away. If it actually happens, it would come nearly nine years after the original prototype was first shown in November 2017.

We’ve been down this road before — many, many times. Here’s the latest on where things stand and how we got here.

A history of broken promises

The second-generation Tesla Roadster was first unveiled as a prototype in November 2017, during the Tesla Semi launch event. At the time, Musk promised production would begin in 2020, with the electric supercar boasting specs that sounded almost too good to be true: 0-60 mph in 1.9 seconds, a 620-mile range from a 200 kWh battery pack, a top speed above 250 mph, and a base price of $200,000.

Tesla immediately began collecting deposits — $50,000 for a standard reservation and a staggering $250,000 for one of the first 1,000 “Founders Series” units. Thousands of people put down their money, expecting to be behind the wheel within a few years.